This recipe is adapted with gratitude and love from one by the amazing Queen of Quinoa

Ok, I’ll admit it- I’m definitely one of the ‘stick to the recipe’, not particularly creative cooks (I’ve had some huge disasters in the past!), but soup, I can make. In fact, I think it’s probably my ‘thang’. My Mum makes amazing soup- I think a bit of what I’ve learned comes from her (thanks Mum!)

The Low-Down

The Ingredients

3 cups broccoli heads (the heads of about 2 large broccoli – save the stalks for your juices!)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to garnish (optional)

250g frozen spinach

250g frozen peas

1 large Spanish red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1½ cups chicken or vegetable stock

1½ cups filtered water

Salt & pepper to taste

A pinch of ginger (optional)

A pinch of mint (optional)

Cooking up a storm!

The ‘How’

Preheat the oven to around 218°C/425°F. Drizzle some coconut oil or olive oil into a baking pan.

Put broccoli heads into a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss broccoli around in the bowl until covered with the oil and throw onto the baking tray (not literally!). Roast for 15 – 20 minutes until broccoli has softened and browned slightly (keep an eye on it!) Flip the heads over halfway through.

While the broccoli is roasting, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add chopped red onion, the garlic and sauté lightly for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the spinach, peas , water and stock and bring to a boil, stirring until spinach has thawed and is mixing in well with the other ingredients. Season with salt, pepper, mint and a dash of ginger. Turn down to a simmer and cover.

When broccoli is done, add to the pot, give it a good stir and keep covered on simmer for another 5 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and blend on high until smooth (if you have a blender, you might want to do this in batches, but my zizzy stick seemed to handle the whole lot in one go pretty well!) Return to the pot, season with additional salt and pepper to taste if required.

Serve immediately. Garnish with additional olive oil in the cente of the bowl for a bit of a flourish!

Others Ways to Jazz it Up!

Use coconut oil instead of olive oil (that’s what I used in the first picture above- it tastes divine!)

Garnish with walnuts, almonds and/pine nuts

Add a squeeze of lemon over the top just before serving

Experiment with left-over greens or veggies you have- celery and carrots would go well here as well

Serve with gorgeous gluten-free rice bread or homemade crackers for a bit of a change

Experiment with using cumin and turmeric if you want a spicier soup

So, there we have it! Hope you enjoy it my darlings- looking forward to diving into my second batch of this later on in the week!